Octopus Mess!!!!

[John]

Pat, you mentioned putting petcocks from a Standard tank onto a Special tank? They won't fit, as the Standard petcocks are much larger that the Specials, and they won't even bolt up, the pattern is different. I tried that already. Special tanks must use Special petcocks, and vice versa. Isn't that special?
Just bypass the octopus. It's easy, and you really only need to use one petcock anyway. That's all I ever use, and I've had no problem with fuel starvation. Just remember to turn the fuel off at night, or when sitting for a long time.

[Midnite]

My octopus also went bad, I tried a K & L repair kit, but it didn't work, so unless I find a cheap replacement I will try to run without it. I have searched the threads, but did not find (I'm sure it's in here somewhere though) what to do with the vacuum line that goes to the octopus? Can I just plug it, or is there more to it than that?

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Midnite,

That vacuum line just comes off one of the synch ports on the #2 intake boot, just cap it off!!! Yeah, it's that simple. The petcocks will flow without any vacuum, they are just gravity feed types, vs. the Standards vacuum controlled. The Special put the vacuum control in the Octopus. Just bypass it, and then remember to turn the petcocks to OFF when you stop riding, been doing that for 4 years now!

[Midnite]

Thanx TopCat, I could not find any octopus on Ebay, I have some in tank filters on order, and also new jets to replace the ones from a K&L kit that made my bike run way to rich. I sure hope it won't be nessesary to replace the pilot jets? I will get some new fuel lines and some inline filter here locally, and hopefully by next weekend I can have the beast running. Riding weather is coming up here in WA, and I hope to spend some time on the Midnight Special this spring/summer. What really pi$$e$ me off is that the bike ran very good when I got it, just decided to rebuild the carbs because the bike sat in a garage for 10+ years. She only have little over 5000 on her!

[crunchbird]

The Octopus also unites the left- and right-side fuel supplies. Wayne's second diagram shows a replacement junction (manifold fitting?). I have never joined the two sides, so I am told I might run out of gas on one side some day. The hump in the tank bottom is not in the middle.

When you eliminate the Octopus, you don't need both fuel outlets from the petcock. Just cap one off to prevent a spill if you accidently turn the lever the wrong direction. I've considered just connecting the two prime outlets with a short hose, but eh! Turning the lever gets automatic pretty quickly.

[Midnite]

OK, I got my inline filters, my net filters for the inside of the tank is on order, new fuel line is also on order. So before I buy a new octopus I am going to try without one. I have seen a few different plumbing methods here.
My plan is to plug the forward outlets (prime) on the petcock, because they are no longer needed. I figured I could use the same rubber caps that are used on the intake manifolds. I also wanted to hook the 2 petcocks together somehow, so I only need to open/close one of them. Has anyone here tried that setup?? (LOL what haven't you guys tried!) Just wondering if one petcock can supply enough gas at high RPM's though.

[John]

I have been runniing without the Octopus for years. If you have read any of my posts on this subject, you'll have seen that my daily commute is 33 miles, round trip, and most of it is on a freeway, and the average speed is about 70 mph, some times faster, sometimes slower. I can run at over 90 mph with just one petcock open, and not have any fuel starvation problems. The way I have things plumbed is I capped of the prime ports of the petcocks, and ran a line from petcock to petcock, cut the hose and inserted two T fittings, one between #1 & 2 cabs, and the other between #3 & 4 carbs, and then ran a line to the T fittings in the carbs. Very easy, and it works well. If I want to run at a faster speed, then I just open the other petcock. The only draw back to this set up is remembering to shut off the fuel if it will be sitting for a while..

[Midnite]

Thanx John, your info is much appreciated.
That sounds simple enough, I went to Home Depot and Schucks today looking for Tee's, but did not find any, guess I gotta get em ordered online. What Tee's are you using? Brass? PVC?

[John]

I'm using the T's that were on the original set up to begin with. They would be the ones that are in the hose from the 'prime' side of the petcock where it meets the hose that is coming from Occtopus.

[Midnite]

DUH! Now I feel stupid!
I did not EVEN think of that! Saved me some work and money right of the bat here John, I appreciate your kindness and the time you spend to answer stupid Q's.

[CheckMark]

Fuel line Routing XS1100



This was on a label stuck to the bottom of the seat pan.

[Wayne]

what was on the label?

[motoman]

what was on the label?

the fuel line routing for Specials....duh..

[Crazy Damian]

Where does the vacume line from the left side go?

If you eliminate the octopus, what do you do with the vacume line coming out of the left side where your advance mechanism is?

Damian

[natemoen]

If you eliminate the octopus, what do you do with the vacume line coming out of the left side where your advance mechanism is?

Damian

It is supposed to be plugged into the nipple on the #2 carb body, so you leave it as is.